Art Cummings: Heated battles rage on

Published 6:52 pm, Friday, February 28, 2014

SHEPAUG VALLEY CONTROVERSY SPIRALS ALONG: The battle lines have long since been drawn on the Region 12 Board of Education over the issue of consolidated vs. local elementary schools.

The Washington contingent, who account for half of the 12 members on the board, are solidly in favor of closing the three elementary schools in the district and building a consolidated pre-K-to-grade-5 school on the campus of Shepaug Valley Middle High School in Washington.

Based on Monday night's lengthy discussion about the project, it doesn't appear any amount of talking is going to get members to change their minds on an issue that has divided the district for more than 30 years.

There were several votes taken on the issue over the course of the more than four-hour meeting, and nearly all of them came out 8-4 or 8-3-1, with Roxbury member Kelly Lott siding with the minority from Bridgewater and fellow Roxburians Greg Cava and Emily Hibbard joining forces with the Washington members.

The process is spiraling toward a district-wide referendum, likely in April, and that occasion will be a red-letter day in Shepaug Valley history -- one way or the other.

Voters will be asked if they support a $32.6 million consolidated school project and $8.2 million for repairs to the existing -- and aging -- Shepaug Valley Middle High School, a nearly $41 million endeavor (minus state funding, plus interest).

They will also be asked, in a separate vote, if they want to change the 1967 regionalization plan that guarantees elementary schools in all three towns, a required change if consolidation is to happen.

One of the debates on the board is whether the two projects -- new school and repairs -- should be put up as one question (as favored by the majority) or two separate questions (as favored by the minority).

An argument can be made -- and was made Monday night -- that this is one project, and it should go to the voters in sink-or-swim fashion.

The flip side is that a single question would give no options to the voters, some of whom may favor consolidation but not school repairs, or vice versa. And if the whole package is voted down, the board would have no clear-cut information as to why and would need another vote just to get the repairs done.

It would seem more prudent to go with two separate votes and find out for sure how the voters feel about both sides of the project. It will be interesting to see how district residents feel about that when they speak out at Tuesday's night's public hearing.

Of course, if district voters turn down the proposed change in the regionalization plan, the vote on consolidation would be academic. And it would be back to the drawing board to come up with a much-needed solution to the serious problems of declining enrollment and increasing per-pupil costs.

EMOTIONAL DEBATE OVER SOUP KITCHEN CONTINUES: The proposal by Loaves & Fishes Hospitality House to relocate its soup kitchen from the town-owned Richmond Citizen Center on Main Street in New Milford and add other services to help the needy in a building at 25 Bridge St. is being met with strong, emotional reaction on both sides of the issue.

There have already been three nights of Zoning Commission public hearings on the plan, and a fourth night is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11.

Proponents, including Loaves & Fishes President Lisa Martin, point to the dire need for the volunteer-run service and justifiably argue that it needs to be located near the center of town -- in close proximity to those who come to the soup kitchen, most of whom live in or near the downtown.

Opponents, including neighbors and parents of young people who play at nearby Young's Field, offer several reasons, ranging from sincere, legitimate concerns to emotional and callous claims.

One point that must be made clear: Loaves & Fishes did not create poverty and hunger in New Milford. Loaves & Fishes came into existence in response to the need to help those down on their luck.

And if Loaves & Fishes' application is denied, poverty and hunger will not go away in New Milford, and neither will "those people" -- as a couple of opponents have insensitively labeled the soup kitchen clients.

Art Cummings is editor emeritus of The News-Times. He can be contacted at 203-731-3351 or at acummings@newstimes.com.